Armenian side intensifies provocations against Azerbaijan

Armenian lobby and other anti-Azerbaijani forces are deeply concerned about Azerbaijan’s recent achievements on various issues on foreign policy, particularly within international organizations. These achievements mainly include two issues – failure of attempts to pressure with the issues of so-called human rights violations and political prisoner and the adoption of the resolutions on ongoing occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other seven territories of Azerbaijan. While the indication of success on the issue of political prisoner was negative vote of the vast majority of PACE members against the report by German MP Christoph Strasser in 2013, the other was the resolution on the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other seven territories of Azerbaijan. The recent resolution in this regard is the PACE Resolution 2085 (2016) titled “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” by Bosnian MP Milica Markovic. The resolution:

– confirms the fact of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories of Azerbaijan by Armenian state;

– requests the immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied region;

– stresses that the deliberate creation of environmental crisis against Azerbaijan by Armenia is an environmental aggression;

– states that Armenian state is directly responsible for the result of possible humanitarian catastrophe due to current state of Sarsang reservoir, located in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Armenian lobby and other anti-Azerbaijani forces try to cast a shadow on all Azerbaijani achievements by telling various lies under “caviar diplomacy” just to question this success. Unfortunately, this issue also appears on media of several states with powerful pro-Armenian and anti-Azerbaijani forces.

Italian media and TV programs, influenced by Armenian lobby, were mobilized in this regard. One of them was “Report” program aired on the TV Channel “Rai 3”. Presenter of the program Milena Gabanelli was regularly engaged in the activity against Azerbaijan, visited Armenia and occupied Azerbaijani territories, and interviewed Armenian side. On the contrary, she did not interview Azerbaijani side and prepared biased and unfair report and Armenians were in majority among guests in her program as experts. As author of the program Milena Gabanelli regularly expressed biased, severe, and unfair views, the program was suspended, and it was even revealed that a 300 million euro lawsuit was filed against the channel and the program. As the program spread biased and slanderous information about several persons, “Report” program and “Rai 3” channel were sued several times, and large amount of compensation claims were raised against them. Multiple plaintiffs include well-known companies and people, such as former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italian oil-gas company “ENİ”, influential Italian newspaper “Libero Quotidiano”, Claudio Scajola, triple Minister of Italian government, as well as former Minister Renato Brunetta, Gianno Alemanno, former mayor of Rome and former Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Formigoni, Italian Senator and head of Lombardy province, Verona mayor Flavio Tosi, former Ravello mayor Secondo Amalfitano, Italian prosecutor Salvatore Murone, Senator Cesare Cursi, MPs Roberto Morassut and Monica Faenzi.

Armenians continue their large-scale provocation against Azerbaijan. They launched a blackmail campaign against Ms. Milica Markovic, author of PACE Resolution 2085 (2016) titled “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” adopted on January 26, 2016. Thus, according to media of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Parliament and media recently received an anonymous letter. The media notes that MP Ms. Milica Markovic, author of the resolution, didn’t cooperate with Armenian side during the preparation of PACE Resolution 2085 (2016) and developed a text fully biased of Armenians. The letter directly accuses Ms. Markovic of preparing this resolution against certain bribe.

It should be noted that an author of the letter deliberately tries to deceive parliamentarians and the public. Thus, the Armenian side refused to cooperate with the rapporteur despite the insistence of the rapporteur and PACE leadership in the course of preparing the Resolution 2085 (2016). Therefore, paragraph 8 of the Resolution underlines: “The Assembly firmly condemns the lack of co-operation of the Armenian parliamentary delegation and the Armenian authorities during the preparation of the report on this issue. The Assembly regards such behaviour as incompatible with the obligations and commitments of a country which is a full member of the Council of Europe”.

The anonymous letter sent to Parliament of Bosina and Herzegovina was immediately forwarded to the public and was propagated by Mladen Bosic, Chairman of Bosnian delegation to PACE. During his interviews on this letter on all media outlets, he told that he met Armenian delegation, that he heard the same accusations from them; he accused Ms. Markovic of preparing the document against Armenians, as a Christian.

According to Ms. Markovic’s interview to local media, she investigated and found out that the author of the letter was Mr. Predrag Grgic, Ambassador of Permanent Delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to PACE. The media informs that Ms. Markovic immediately contacted the Ambassador, that the latter first denied, but then admitted that he had written the letter at the request of Mladen Bosic. Moreover, Predrag Grgic told that the letter wasn’t intended for the public and was prepared only for informing Bosic.

According to media of Bosnia and Herzegovina, former rapporteur Markovic appealed to the court both against Bosic, Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovinian delegation to PACE and Ambassador Grgic and informed all media outlets. Ambassador Grgic was seriously concerned about the course of developments and addressed local media outlets, stating that MP Mladen Bosic deceived him and that publishing his letter on the media was very low and unreasonable action. At the same time, the local media states that Mladen Bosic doesn’t reply journalists after Mr. Grgic’s statement.

Therefore, another Armenian provocation against our country completely failed.

Elkhan Suleymanov, Azerbaijani MP, member of the Azerbaijani Delegation to PACE